GOP gov’s poll shows tight race among top 3

Rival gubernatorial campaigns scoffed this week when Republican Bill Lee declared “we can win” in a speech to supporters at his headquarters launch. A new Lee poll obtained by The Tennessee Journal appears to lend that statement at least some credence.

The poll shows the Franklin businessman in a “strong third place” behind Randy Boyd and Diane Black, with Beth Harwell lagging far behind.

The poll of 600 likely Republican primary voters was conducted between Feb. 5 and Feb. 11 by pollster Whit Ayres of North Star Opinion Research (who has also worked for the campaigns of Bill Frist, Lamar Alexander, Bob Corker, and Bill Haslam).

Here are some of the top takeaways:

Preference in Republican gubernatorial primary:

Randy Boyd

25%

Diane Black

22%

Bill Lee

18%

Beth Harwell

4%

Undecided

30%

Name recognition:

Diane Black

73%

Randy Boyd

59%

Beth Harwell

53%

Bill Lee

43%

Favorability ratings among those who recognized the candidate:

Favorable

Unfavorable

Diane Black

42%

19%

Randy Boyd

38%

5%

Beth Harwell

27%

9%

Bill Lee

27%

5%

The pollster concludes: “These findings mean that the gubernatorial contest is wide open, a tight three-way race at the moment. Moreover, Bill Lee has lots of room to grow as the candidate close to the leaders who is least well-known.”

One detail left unmentioned in the poll memo is that while Boyd, Lee, and Black have all run campaign ads, Harwell has yet to go on the air and she has been coy about when she will do so. It will be interesting to see how much she can move the needle once she does.

4 Responses to GOP gov’s poll shows tight race among top 3

As the most liberal candidate I believe Randy! Boyd is the least desirable of all of them and will prove to be in a running battle with conservatives during his entire term(s) in office. If the election were held today I would have to vote for Diane Black (I can’t believe I’m typing that) insofar as she apparently has the best chance of beating Boyd because as far as I’m concerned it’s ANYBODY BUT BOYD.